Ibn Hibban

Ziyad bin Jubair narrates: My father told me that Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Hormuzan: When you have put me to trial regarding yourself, then advise me for my good, and this is the reason: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: Speak, there is no harm. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) granted him protection, so Hormuzan said: Yes, today Persia has one head and two wings. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Where is its head? He replied: At Nahawand, near Banadh Azqan, with him are the bracelets of Kisra and the people of Isfahan. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Where are its two wings? Hormuzan mentioned a place which I have forgotten. Hormuzan said: If you cut off their two wings, you will weaken the head, so Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: O enemy of Allah, you have spoken wrongly; rather, I will go towards the head, Allah will cut it off, and when Allah cuts it off, He will also remove the two wings. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) intended to go there himself, but the people said: O Commander of the Faithful, we beseech you by Allah, if you yourself go towards the lands of the non-Arabs and are martyred there, the Muslims will have no system left; send the army instead. The narrator says: So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sent the people of Madinah, and he sent his son Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) among them. He sent the Muhajirun and Ansar. He wrote a letter to Sayyiduna Abu Musa Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) to set out with the people of Basra, and he wrote a letter to Sayyiduna Hudhaifah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) to set out with the people of Kufa, until all of you gather at the place of Nahawand, and your commander will be Nu'man bin Muqarrin Muzani. The narrator says: When all the people gathered at Nahawand, Banadh Azqan's chief sent them a message: O group of Arabs, send us a man with whom we may talk. So the people chose Mughira bin Shu'bah. (The narrator says) My father narrated this. The image of his appearance is as if I see it before my eyes today; he was a tall man, had much hair, and was one-eyed. He went to him. When he came to us, we asked him, and he told us: I found the chief (i.e., their leader) consulting with his companions whether they should meet us with full pomp and show so that their awe would be established over us. His companions advised that they should meet us with full preparation and grandeur. (Sayyiduna Mughira, may Allah be pleased with him, said) When I came to them, I saw him armed in such a way that the eyes were dazzled. I saw people standing at his head, and he was sitting on a golden throne. There was a crown on his head. I passed by as I was and lowered my head to sit with him on the throne. Sayyiduna Mughira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I was pushed away from there and scolded, so I said: Such behavior is not shown to ambassadors. They said to me: You are a dog. Do you want to sit with the king? I said: I am considered more honorable among my people than this man is among you. The narrator says: He scolded me and said: Sit down, so I sat down. Then his words were translated before me, and he said: "O group of Arabs, you were the hungriest, the most hard-hearted, the dirtiest, the most remote dwellers, and the farthest from goodness. If you go away, we will let you go; if you do not agree, then we will show you the place of your recompense." Sayyiduna Mughira (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I praised and glorified Allah and said: By Allah! In what you have described of our condition and situation, you have not erred. Our land is the farthest, we were the hungriest, the most hard-hearted, and the farthest from goodness, until Allah sent a Messenger to us. He promised us help in this world and Paradise in the Hereafter. Since the Messenger of Allah came to us, we have been continuously attaining success and prosperity from our Lord until we have come to you. By Allah! We have seen your kingdom and your way of life, and now we will never return to that wretchedness, and we will gain dominance over whatever you possess, or we will be martyred in your land. Upon this, he said: This one-eyed man has spoken the truth to you about what was in his mind. (Sayyiduna Mughira, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates) So I got up from him. By Allah! I tried my best to awe the chief (named Alaj). Then Alaj sent us a message: Will you cross (the river) to us at Nahawand, or shall we cross to you? So Sayyiduna Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You cross over. So we crossed over. The narrator says: My father narrated this: I have never seen a sea like that day; their army was coming like mountains of iron, and they had made a pact among themselves that they would not flee before the Arabs. They were joined together, so much so that seven men were linked together, and they had placed a millstone behind them. They said: Whoever among us flees will be crushed by the iron millstone. When Sayyiduna Mughira bin Shu'bah (may Allah be pleased with him) saw their multitude, he said: I have never seen a more terrifying situation than today; our enemy has complete superiority. The narrator says: Sayyiduna Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him) was a man who wept much. He said: May Allah never show you such a situation again, nor disgrace you, nor let you falter. By Allah! I am not attacking them except because I saw something with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Whenever the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) participated in a battle, he would not begin fighting in the early part of the day. He would not begin fighting until the time of prayer had come, the wind had started to blow, and the situation for battle had been prepared. Then Sayyiduna Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed: O Allah! I ask You to cool my eyes today with victory, for in it is the honor of Islam and the people of Islam, and the humiliation of disbelief and the people of disbelief. Then after that, grant me martyrdom and end my life with it. Then he said: Say Ameen, may Allah have mercy on you. So we said Ameen, then he began to weep, and we also began to weep. Then Sayyiduna Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I will wave my flag; you prepare your weapons. Then when I wave it a second time, come forward to face the enemy, and when I wave it a third time, then every person, seeking the blessing of Allah, should attack his nearest enemy. The narrator says: When the time of prayer came and the winds began to blow, he said Takbir, so we also said Takbir. He said: This is the wind of victory. By Allah! If Allah wills, (we will be victorious), and I hope Allah will accept my prayer and grant us victory. So he waved the flag, and the people prepared themselves. He waved it a second time, then a third time, so we all attacked. Every person attacked his nearest enemy. Sayyiduna Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If I am martyred, then Sayyiduna Hudhaifah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) will be the commander; if Sayyiduna Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) is martyred, then so-and-so will be; if he is martyred, then so-and-so, until Sayyiduna Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned seven men, the last of whom was Sayyiduna Mughira bin Shu'bah (may Allah be pleased with him). My father narrates: By Allah! I do not know of any Muslim who wished to return to his family until he was either martyred or victorious. They attacked us, and we heard only the sound of iron striking iron, until many Muslims were martyred. When they saw our patience and saw that we did not want to turn back, they retreated. If one of them fell, then the seven men linked together would also fall, and all would be killed, and the iron millstone behind them would crush them. Sayyiduna Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Advance the flag, so we advanced the flag and continued to kill and strike them. When Sayyiduna Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him) saw that Allah had accepted his prayer, and he saw victory and success had come to them, he was struck at his side and was martyred. His brother Sayyiduna Muqarrin bin Muqarrin (may Allah be pleased with him) came, covered him with a cloth, took the flag, and advanced with it. Then he said: Advance, may Allah have mercy on you, and we advanced. We routed them and killed them. When we finished and the people gathered, they asked: Where is the commander? Sayyiduna Muqarrin (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Here is your commander. Allah cooled his eyes with victory and finally granted him martyrdom. So the people pledged allegiance to Sayyiduna Hudhaifah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him). The narrator says: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was in Madinah, praying to Allah and waiting as one waits for the cry of a pregnant woman. Sayyiduna Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) sent the letter of glad tidings of victory with a Muslim to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). When he came to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: O Commander of the Faithful, glad tidings of victory to you! Allah granted Islam and the people of Islam honor in this battle, and He granted humiliation to shirk and its people. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Did Nu'man send you? The messenger said: O Commander of the Faithful, hope for reward regarding Nu'man (i.e., pray for his forgiveness). Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) began to weep and recited: "Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Woe to you, who else (was martyred)? The messenger mentioned so-and-so and so-and-so and so-and-so, naming several people. Then he said: O Commander of the Faithful, there are others whom you do not know. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wept and said: They will not be harmed if "Umar" does not know them, but Allah knows them.